Monday, January 17, 2011

A Quick Visit To MOMA And The Exhibit "On Line : Drawing Through The Twentieth Century," featuring Loie Fuller's Dance Serpentine

I took a quick trip to NYC this past week and spent a couple of mornings at MOMA.

What drew me to MOMA (as opposed to any of the other places in New York) was the "On Line" exhibit, currently showing into February. This exhibit promises a look at one hundred years of drawing, 1910 to 2010, examining how artists over that time expanded the concept of drawing.

The exhibit is lively and kind of fun, with sculptures and film, as well as works on paper and other supports. Mostly, though, it felt like jokes about line, one-liners, puns, cleverness about line.

One of the things I like best about it is a short film, silent and in color, dating from 1897-99. Called Dance Serpentine II, it features a dancer wearing silk robes containing bamboo rods, moving the robes and herself through space, as lights change the color of the robe. The overall feeling, as Paula describes it, is "Kabuki like." Here's a link to a film of Dance Serpentine, a version with Loie Fuller (the dancer and choreographer) performing, dating from 1896.

The video I've linked to of Dance Serpentine is still inspiring, over one hundred years later. It's under a minute long, and well worth viewing. I am amazed by the early use of color film, something I did not know existed then. And I like the cleverness of the dance.

Loie Fuller was part dance innovator, part applied scientist (she pioneered in lighting). She inspired many artists in her career and she lives on in their works and in her own, with choreography that is still influencing modern dance.

The photographs I've posted were taken by me with my husband's i-phone. The first is a view into the courtyard, the day after last week's snowfall.

The second is of visitors to the permanent collection. The paintings are by Modigliani.

The video I've linked to of Dance Serpentine is still inspiring, over one hundred years later. It's under a minute long, and well worth viewing.

Loie Fuller was part dance innovator, part applied scientist (she pioneered in lighting). She inspired many artists in her career and she lives on in their works and in her own, with choreography that is still influencing modern dance.

Paula, Fuller pretty much embodies art nouveau, with its Japanese influences. Kabuki feel is a perfect description.

If you google Loie Fuller or look at the wikipedia article about her, you can see some of the art nouveau posters and paintings in which she features. Also, according to wikipedia, there's a choreographer using her stuff, now. Very cool.

I'm late but I'm so glad to catch up on your posts. That video is fantastic. I love the color and the old crackles in the film and her ecstatic swirls. I like the photos too: the magical stillness in the top one and the action in the second one.